Tent
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Jackery shows off a rooftop solar tent at CES that makes overlanding more environmentally friendly
It's an all-in-one solar station for your truck roof.
Tesla workers say they used electrical tape in Model 3 production
Tesla may have broken its own records, manufacturing 72,531 Model 3 sedans in the three months that ended June 30th. But employees say in the push to ramp up Model 3 production, they were forced to cut corners and work in difficult, unsafe conditions. A handful of employees who work in Tesla's open-air GA4 production tent told CNBC that they used electrical tape to quickly repair cracks on plastic brackets and housings and worked through extreme heat, cold and wild-fire smoke.
The portable pop-up gaming room is here
Privacy. Sometimes we all crave a little. "Bocchi tent" is a 1.3 x 1.3-meter, soft-cornered cube that maker Bibi Lab reckons offers the "ultimate gaming space." With a slender gossamer wall between you and the rest of humanity, there's a degree of sensorial blockage, but we could, obviously, still hear the din of the Tokyo Game Show floors -- headphones will be necessary if you're looking to block out Other People. (The computer inside didn't even have any games! What a waste.) With all the space-age science of a pop-up tent, open up the storage pouch and the temporary gaming den makes itself -- you'll just have to add the furniture (and well, gaming hardware), yourself. The tent is set to retail for 5,000 yen in Japan -- and if you're particularly taken with the idea of your own flatpack Internet Cafe, at least it should fit in your suitcase.
Go tent camping now in Wurm Online
In a game that allows you to carve out a swath of wilderness and create a home, it seems strange that Wurm Online previously lacked anything between the "sleep on the hard ground" and "set up shop in a full cabin" territory. Well that's all changed thanks to the addition of tents, including a newbie variant that is handed out at the start. Wurm's also updated the game to include timber frame walls for houses. The team spent some time in this week's news post to talk about upcoming projects, including a pavilion-style tent, progress with collision detection on bridges, a meditation animation, and the Xanadu release. [Thanks to Tom for the tip!]
Goal Zero's Lighthouse250 Lantern, solar panel tent charge your gadgets alfresco
Keeping your USB-powered gear powered up while camping in the woods or hiking the Appalachian Trail can prove quite a challenge. Solar chargers and backup batteries can help, sure, but when you're already hauling dozens of pounds of gear, an integrated solution is where it's at. Goal Zero has a pair of new products to help streamline things a bit. First up, the Lighthouse250 Lantern can provide 48 hours of 250-lumen LED output with a full charge, and it can charge up a gadget via a built-in USB port. If you don't have a solar panel handy, you can use the hand crank to juice up the lantern in the field. The company's also teaming up with Eddie Bauer on a solar panel-equipped tent, the 36-square-foot Katabatic 2 -- you'll need to add your own battery pack to store the energy collected from the 18-watt roof-mounted panel. Eddie Bauer has yet to announce pricing for the tent, which should ship next spring, but you can expect the lantern to retail for about 80 bucks in Q4.
UrRobot's Robii hides a multitouch projector in his circus tent (video)
This cute, bearmonkey-like creature with animatronic head and arms perched atop a rotating, but otherwise fixed torso is called Robii. He's built by Compal Communications, the ODM more often associated with handsets, and will be sold under the new UrRobot brand in Taiwan. The 16,900 NTD (about $582) toy robot features an interactive projector tucked away inside of Robii's circus tent. When extended, it projects interactive video for gaming and infotainment -- very similar to the projected multitouch display we saw demonstrated by Light Blue Optics at CES 2010. Robii can track moving objects using its built-in cameras and comes equipped with an ambient light sensor, and voice and image recognition. It's also capable of barking commands at children with the appropriate visage (from a catalog of 100 facial expressions) to ensure dutiful compliance. Quick demo after the break. Update: We've been informed that the VGA pico projector is of Himax Technologies origin. Full details after the break.
Orange's Solar Concept Tent has lots of revolutionary, imaginary features
If the promise of Birkenstock-powered phone chargin' wasn't enough to get your ass to Glasto this year (never mind catching Björn Again perform ABBA's greatest hits on the Pyramid Stage), how about an up-close-and-personal peek at Orange's Solar Concept Tent? Designed with help from an American firm called Kaleidoscope, this guy is a refresh of the original Orange Solar Tent you might remember from 2003. Featuring photovoltaic fabric panels up top, an LCD display for keeping an eye on battery levels, a wireless charging pouch (like Palm's Touchstone but, you know, a pouch), a heating element embedded in the tent's groundsheet, the ability to light up if you should get lost while freaky dancing, and WiFi connectivity, this bad boy could conceivably get even the most nature-phobic Engadget editor out into the wild. That is, if it wasn't just a concept.[Via Textually]
Orange's recharge Pod tent to keep mobiles juiced at Glastonbury
For those fortunate enough to be planning a trip to this year's Glastonbury, you can rest assured that forgetting your mobile charger won't be the worst thing that could possibly happen. Reportedly, Orange will erect a seven-meter high recharge Pod tent in which patrons can stop by and reinvigorate their winded handset. Said tent will boast 500-watt solar panels and a 500-watt wind turbine in order to generate electricity for the lifeless phones, and Orange is hoping to juice up 100 devices per hour. If only such conveniences were everywhere...[Thanks, Adam]
The DS Life: Wanderers
Every single group of people you can categorize seems to have taken to the DS -- moms, dads, grandparents, babies, teachers, bloggers, movie stars, athletes, pirates, ninjas, and even crabs! They all love the Nintendo DS! What's the latest demographic to jump on the dual-screened bandwagon? Pack up your tent and travel past the post break to find out!
The LapDome: tent-shaped sunscreen for your laptop
Friends, are you sick and tired of the constant struggle to use your laptop while sunbathing? Do you find yourself battling the life-giving rays of our closest star, desperately trying to finish that presentation... pool side? Well toil in vain no more -- the LapDome is here. That's right, instead of going inside like a normal person, now you can cover up your laptop with the most ludicrous and embarrassing product since the Pocket Fisherman. You'll get the idea real quick -- it's a mini-tent used to shield your computer from the sun, and the glare which it causes. The company's ad campaign asks "Does this look familiar?" next to the depiction of a woman covering her laptop with a beach towel, then suggests covering your laptop with a small tent might look better. We suggest stopping the madness, ASAP.[Via Pocket-lint]
Toys R' Us nonsense [update 1]
I ntrepid, daring reporter than I am, I decided to brave the intense, soul-freezing cold that is Central Florida in October. My destination? Toys R' Us ... which I had heretofore not even known existed in my tiny town of Gainesville, Florida ... to check out the line. Reports were coming in of many TRU stores giving raffle tickets to everyone there, and having a lottery to determine the winners ... poppycock! The most devoted should get the system, and devoted there were. The first couple folks were out there at 8:45 AM on Saturday morning, bravely camping out for ... wait, a PS3? [update 1 -- fixed a small typo]
Travelodge trials Travelpod tent / hotel room
Although you may have skipped the whole Boy Scout thing as a kid and still can't envision yourself ever setting foot on a campground, Travelodge's Travelpod may be of interest. Chances are if you've never tried roughing it in the wilderness just for kicks, you may still have considered camping out for certain launches of inexplicable importance, or found yourself homeless after a long day at name-your-music-festival. Travelodge is aiming squarely at those who turn their noses at the the thought of a tent by offering a semi-portable hotel room at various outdoor venues. The palatial pod is sealed up by clear polycarbonate glass to keep those pesky creatures out of your dwelling area, and features a "luxury double bed" (since when have hotel beds been luxurious?), tables, lights, duvets, pillows, carpeted flooring, a mirror, and even a fully functional bathroom. While we're unsure how similar the restroom is to an indoor outhouse, we do admire the effort, and the sealed nature of the pod helps to quell the noises of the nocturnal. The Travelpod will be offered at various concerts and festivals in the UK next year, and if catching a good night's rest just doesn't happen while you're flat on the ground, you can shack up in style for £26 per night.[Via Core 77]
